It depends entirely on which account you are posting from. A personal account browsing TikTok's full sound library is covered by TikTok's own deals with rights holders. A business account is not, and TikTok enforces that in the interface: you will only see the Commercial Music Library. That is the part that catches people out.

Why can a business account only see Commercial Sounds?

Because TikTok's general music library is not licensed for commercial content. TikTok says its General Music Library songs are not licensed for any content posted by a brand, so Business accounts only see Commercial Sounds when adding audio. Nothing has gone wrong with your account. You are in a different licensing tier.

The logic is straightforward. The chart music in the general library is licensed to TikTok for personal, non-commercial posting. A business account is, by definition, commercial. So TikTok routes you to a separate catalogue that is licensed for exactly that.

What does the Commercial Music Library cover?

The Commercial Music Library is a large catalogue of songs and sound effects licensed for commercial use on TikTok. Businesses can use its tracks in organic and paid TikTok content without paying per track. Its user terms do not grant rights to use those sounds outside TikTok, apart from any listed usable placements.

For a business posting only to TikTok, that is a genuinely good deal and you should use it. Its limits are worth being precise about, because this is where creators get hurt:

  • It is scoped to TikTok. TikTok's user terms say commercial uses outside TikTok are not permitted, and posting to other platforms or using the sounds in TV, radio or theatrical media needs separate permission from the rights holder. The licence does not travel with the file.
  • You do not hold the licence. There is no document with your name on it that you can hand a client, an agency or a broadcaster who asks for proof.
  • Everyone else has it too. It is free and enormous, which is the point, and also why it sounds the way it does.

When do you need your own licence?

You need your own licence when the track you want is not in the Commercial Music Library, when the video will also run somewhere other than TikTok, when a client needs written proof of permission, or when it will run as a paid ad outside TikTok's own ad products. Each needs a licence naming you.

  • The track you want is not in the Commercial Music Library.
  • The video will also run somewhere other than TikTok.
  • You are making it for a client who needs documentary proof of permission.
  • It is a paid ad outside TikTok's ad products.

A per-track sync licence is a contract naming you, the track and the use. On cadential. a social licence covers organic posts on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X together, priced individually for each song and shown on the track page before checkout. It does not cover paid promotion: a paid ad needs a Brand / ad licence. You pay once, with no subscription and no expiry. How pricing works is on how it works.

The one to get right: client work

If you make TikTok content for other businesses, this is not a technicality. You are supplying a deliverable, and the music permission is part of what you are being paid for. "I used the sounds TikTok showed me" is not a licence, and it will not survive a client's legal review or a repurposing request six months later.

License the track properly, keep the licence number, hand it over with the file. It costs less than the argument.

Related guides:

Questions, answered

Do you need a music licence for TikTok?

For a personal account posting non-commercial content, TikTok’s own agreements with rights holders generally cover the music in its main library. For a business account, TikTok restricts the sounds you can add to its Commercial Music Library. If you want a track that is not in that library, or you intend to use the video anywhere other than TikTok, you need a licence of your own.

Why can I only see Commercial Sounds on my TikTok business account?

That is deliberate. TikTok’s own help documentation states that Business accounts see only Commercial Sounds when adding audio. TikTok says songs in its General Music Library are not licensed for commercial content, which it defines as any content posted by a brand.

Does the Commercial Music Library cover my video on other platforms?

Generally no. TikTok’s Commercial Music Library user terms say commercial uses outside TikTok are not permitted and no rights are granted for them, apart from any placements a sound lists as usable. For YouTube, Instagram, a client’s site or broadcast, license the track separately from the rights holder.

What happens if I use a popular song on a business account anyway?

Typically the audio is removed or the video is taken down, and repeat issues can affect the account. The commercial risk is worse than the platform one: an unlicensed track in content you were paid to make is a problem for your client as well as for you.

Sources

  1. How to use the Commercial Music Library, TikTok Business Help Center
  2. Commercial Music Library: User Terms, TikTok
  3. Explore Royalty-Free Music in the Commercial Music Library, TikTok for Business

This guide is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own project, talk to a lawyer. Licence details on cadential. are set out in the licence terms.